SEED-GROWING, GRAFTING AND BUDDING 21 



high state of perfection would decay with the orchards 

 now standing. All the common pomaceous fruits 

 (apples, pears, and quinces) , the stone fruits (peaches, 

 plums, cherries, and apricots), and the citrus fruits 

 (lemons, limes, and oranges) , are now multiplied by 

 grafting or budding. The progress in plant breeding 

 and the great rapidity with which new sorts are now 

 disseminated could not be attained without the aid of 

 budding or grafting. 



THE SCION AND ITS TREATMENT. A scion is a 

 portion cut from a plant, to be inserted upon another 

 (or the same) plant, with the intention tha* *t shall 

 grow. The wood for scions should be taken while in 

 a dormant or resting condition. The time usually 

 considered best is after the leaves have fallen^ but 

 before severe freezing begins. The scions should be 

 cut in about six-inch lengths from matured new wood 

 from bearing trees of known variety ; then tied in 

 bunches and placed in moist sand, where they will 

 not freeze and yet will be kept cold enough to pre- 

 vent growth. Good results may follow cutting scions 

 in the spring just before or at the time the grafting 

 is to be done, but it is a much better plan to cut the 

 scions in the fall. 



THE STOCK AND ITS TREATMENT. The stock is 

 the tree or part of a tree upon which or into which the 

 bud or scion is inserted. For best results in grafting 

 it is essential that the stock be in an active, growing 

 condition. 



How To CXEFT GRAFT. When in the spring the 

 sap begins to move in the stock, be ready ; this occurs 

 early in the plum and cherry, and later in the pear 



